1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to electronic commerce across the Internet; and more particularly to the delivery of content to prospective customers via the Internet in furtherance of electronic commerce.
2. Related Art
The popularity and use of the Internet (World-Wide-Web “WWW”) continues to increase dramatically with time. While electronic commerce (e-commerce) across the Internet is a relatively recent development, e-commerce sales already represent a substantial portion of overall sales. While some e-commerce sellers sell only via the Internet, other e-commerce sellers maintain conventional stores and sell over the Internet as well.
Traditional advertising and sales theories, however, do not always readily apply to e-commerce sales. Using conventional methods, advertisers create advertising content that is directed toward a particular type of potential customer and is placed in a particular medium. For example, advertisements for golf clubs are shown on television during golfing tournaments or in golfing magazines but are not broadcast at most other times. While advertisement upon the Internet has become substantial, little basis exists for targeting advertisements to particular types of potential customers or for validating the success of advertising campaigns.
Some attempts have been made to correlate the content of a particular web page being viewed by a prospective customer with advertising content presented therein. For example, a prospective customer viewing a web page listing scores of baseball games may be provided with an advertisement and link to a web site that sells athletic equipment. As a further example, a prospective customer viewing a web page providing information regarding infants may be provided with an advertisement and link to a web site that sells baby products. Unfortunately, this type of correlation is prone to errors and has produced little historical success.
Further, determining which e-commerce advertisements or promotions are successful is also difficult, if not impossible to determine. Such is the case because correlation between e-commerce advertisements and e-commerce sales cannot be easily determined. Only when a customer performs a direct click-through from an advertisement to an on-line purchase is it possible to determine that the advertisement corresponds directly to a sale. In most, if not all other advertising situations, the success of an advertising campaign is indeterminable.
E-commerce presents its own unique difficulties in attempting to close sales. The very nature of e-commerce precludes common types of techniques used to close sales. Conventional stores typically employ sales people to assist customers in selecting and purchasing products. The sales people present purchase options to customers, receive feedback from the customers and, based upon the feedback, are able to take steps to close the sale. In an e-commerce transaction, however, customers are able to view a wide range of product offerings without traveling to different physical locations. The prospective customer operates alone, without any assistance in making the decision whether to purchase a product. Thus, no representative of the seller is able to close the sale. Various studies have shown that many e-commerce shoppers select items for purchase, place them in their electronic shopping cart, and prepare to make the purchase only to change their mind at the last minute.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a system that tailors content, including advertising content, to particular groups of users in an attempt to make sales or simply to expose particular content. Further, there is a need in the art for a system that allows e-commerce vendors to take steps to close sales. Moreover, there is a need in the art for a system that provides meaningful feedback to e-commerce vendors regarding customer habits, that provides feedback regarding the success of advertisements/content and that allows e-commerce vendors to alter advertising/content based upon these results.